We’re at the end

Well, this is the last day of my favorite month of the entire year. {deep breath} That sure flew by, didn’t it?

Of course, that means just 18 days until my birthday so there is always a bright side to things. (This birthday seems different somehow but I’ll post about that later.)

I’m getting excited about NaBloPoMo. Do you want to hear what a dork I am? I’ve created a spreadsheet with a row for each day in November and a column for the topic or theme I’ll be writing about that day. Yeah, D-O-R-K! Right now, I have about 18 days already figured out and that isn’t counting any book reviews.

And with this starting November 1 as well:

I expect to have a few.

And I’m taking requests so if there’s something you’ve always wanted to know or to ask, just leave a comment or email me and I’ll try to accommodate.

Until November…Happy Halloween and may all your jack-o-lanterns live through the night!

On the bookshelf, #35

Love Walked In, by Marisa de los Santos

Loved, loved, loved this book.

I know this is a cop-out and I was going to summarize this book for you, but when I read this over at bn.com, I realized it said everything I was going to say but better. So here you go, straight from the web site:

A tribute to classic film and true romance, Love Walked In tells the story of two women – one older, one younger – and the unexpected ways in which their lives are forever changed by chance.

For thirty-one-year old Cornelia Brown, life is a series of movie moments, and “Jimmy Stewart is always and indisputably the best man in the world, unless Cary Grant should happen to show up.” So imagine Cornelia’s delight when her very own Cary Grant walks through the door of the hip Philadelphia café she manages. Handsome and debonair, Martin Grace sweeps Cornelia off her feet, becoming Cary Grant to Cornelia’s Katharine Hepburn, Clark Gable to her Joan Crawford. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, eleven-year-old Clare Hobbes must learn to fend for herself after her increasingly unstable mother has a breakdown and disappears. With no one to turn to, Clare seeks out her estranged father, and when the two of them show up at Cornelia’s café, the lives of Cornelia and Clare are changed in drastic and unexpected ways. A cinematic and heartfelt debut that pays homage to the classic Cary Grant/Katharine Hepburn romantic comedy The Philadelphia Story, Love Walked In is sure to win over critics and readers of contemporary fiction.

I loved The Philadelphia Story (one of my favorite movies of all time). I loved this story. I loved the characters. I loved the writing style (the story is told by both Cornelia and Clare and when Cornelia speaks, she talks directly to the reader in a way that reminded me of some of my favorite bloggers.) I loved the references to classic literature, old movies, and songs. And I loved the ending, although I cried for about 20 minutes. The last paragraph, the last sentence really, is a heart-string-tugger.

I heartily recommend this book and will be looking for more from Marisa de los Santos in the future.

All the cool kids are doing it

NaBloPoMo, for the one or two people out there who aren’t in the know, stands for National Blog Posting Month. November is the month in which thousands of crazy bloggers pledge to post each of the thirty days. I’ve done it twice before, neither time “officially”, but now I’m actually signed up on nablopomo.com and will be cross-posting over there.

If you’re thinking about joining, please do. Yes, it’s scary but it is one of those things that gives you a great sense of accomplishment once its over. If you live through it.

I kid!

Actually, it’s very much like a roller coaster. You start off kind of slow, posting safe and average posts, then build up steam and get on a roll about mid-month, and then like a 30′ drop, you fall into writers’ block, cursing yourself, your blog, the internet and Al Gore while staring at a blank screen at 11 PM. But then you start to ascend again and just as you really start to loosen up and enjoy the ride, it’s over.

And you may throw up.

I kid!

Congrats, I guess

I’m trying really hard to be happy for him. Really, I am. I just don’t like to think about him happily married, you know? Yes, I realize I’m a horrible, selfish person. But HE’S MINE! {shaking fists to the heavens}

And it doesn’t help that this particular scene from When Harry Met Sally keeps playing in my head, either.

Marie: I don’t think he’s every going to leave her.
Sally: I know he’s never going to leave her.
Marie: You’re right, you’re right. I know you’re right.

On the bookshelf, #34

Disobedience, by Naomi Alderman

This book was more and less than I expected. It was definitely more about Orthodox Judaism than I thought it would be. But much less in the way of a flowing storyline than I had hoped. Overall, I would have to sum this book up as just okay.

This story is about Ronit Krushka, who left London, her family, and her Orthodox Jewish upbringing and moved to New York City to live the life of a modern career woman. When her father, an influential and beloved Rabbi dies, Ronit decides to return to London, to face her past and bring to New York the only thing she has wanted since her mother passed away when she was a little girl: the silver candlesticks her mother would light each Sabbath.

In London, Ronit learns that her cousin, Dovid, also a Rabbi and apparent successor to her father, has married her childhood friend, Esti. Ronit stays with Dovid and Esti during her time in London but that quickly becomes uncomfortable for all of them as Esti and Ronit used to be lovers. And as the reader soon learns, Esti is still in love with Ronit.

While the novel had all the ingredients for a great plot with lesbianism, forbidden love, Orthodox Judaism, and a sprinkling of British formality, it really lacked in emotion. None of these characters were likeable. Ronit didn’t just turn her back on her faith, she mocked it and demeaned its followers and was generally just as strict and rigid as she claimed them to be. Esti was quiet to the point of being demented and Dovid was weak and spineless. I didn’t find myself rooting for any of them during any point of the story and when it ended, I didn’t miss them. So, while I learned more about Judaism, I certainly didn’t enjoy myself.